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The Story of a Recovering Quadriplegic

Category: Fundraising

Riley’s eBay auction site is now live, and is available here, or by navigating your browser to http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/stylist711 … There’s a ton of gear on there now that has been donated by some Action Sports heavy-hitters, and more to come! So keep coming back to check on new item postings!

This video was shot at last Saturday’s Rally 4 Riley event at the Freeskier Magazine offices, and provides a great look into Riley’s personal experience with his recovery. Thanks to Mike Thomas for shooting, and Luke Van Valin for interviewing / auctioneering! Stay tuned here, on RileyPoor.com for information about the eBay auction we’re going to hold to unload some of the awesome (and valuable) gear previewed in this video… The eBay auction has been set up! You can access it by clicking this link.

I think I speak for everyone when I say that Saturday’s events were a huge success. Two events. One purpose. Old friends. New friends… And more fun than you could shake a ski pole at. Thank you to everyone involved.

Riley’s presence at the Freeskier Magazine gathering on Saturday afternoon was a true testament to how far he has come in just a few short months since his accident. It was Riley’s furthest trip away from the Craig Hospital to date, and he thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the electric vibe his friends supplied to the venue (he also managed to ‘out’ the birthday girl (Katrina) in front of all of us, and we all had a great time singing “Happy Birthday” to the gal who has done so much to help Riley through his recovery). The highlight of the event – besides watching all of the little munchkins in attendance crawl all over Riley – had to have been Luke Van Valin’s performance as live auctioneer. He masterfully unloaded Riley’s sno-mo in an all out bidding war between Simon Dumont and Freeskier’s fearless editor / in-house DJ Matt Harvey. Simon may have one X-Games Gold this year, but Harvey got the best of him and is the proud (emphasis on ‘proud’) owner of an Arctic Cat M7. A big thanks to Nike 6.0, Freeskier, Red Bull, Coors and the athletes who donated auction items (stay tuned for Ebay auction details, as well as info about how to buy Riley Poor gear).

The party grew in size and enthusiasm as it migrated to the West End Tavern on Pearl Street, where the Red Bull and Coors (from both the tap and Peter Olenick’s beer bottle) were flowing like crazy. Andrew Hathaway’s DJ set was one of the best in my recent memory, and given the vibe on the dance floor, I bet others would agree. The crowd was an awesome mix of industry friends and childhood friends – I’m proud to say that the Crested Buttians showed up in droves and represented to the fullest.

My bro and I paid Riley a visit this morning, and despite having a sore neck from ‘looking up’ during conversations with friends yesterday, his spirits were the highest I’ve seen yet – suffice to say his sense of humor has remained intact throughout this ordeal. He’s incredibly appreciative for everyone in his life, and rightfully so… he has some pretty great friends and family. He and Katrina will be leaving Denver for Los Angeles on Thursday (with the help of Jake Largess who will be driving their new van, packed with just a fraction of their belongings). Riley wants everyone to know that even if he hasn’t returned your email, text, Facebook wall post, etc., he has read it and has drawn a huge amount of strength from the collective well-wishes; he intends to get back to everyone in due time.

As Riley moves on to the next chapter in his life, he will continue to make strides with his recovery. This blog will continue to be the go-to place for all Riley-related info.

Take a pause for the cause and show your love for friend, partner and ski industry staple, Riley Poor, to help Riley get back on his feet. All proceeds from the door are going to fund Riley’s recovery.

We’re very excited that we’ve recently begun a relationship with the NTAF, so that people interested in donating/investing in Riley’s recovery can make tax-deductible donations that will be earmarked for Riley individually.

To download the NTAF Tribute Sheet so you can submit it via snail mail, click here. If you’re more technologically inclined, and you’d like to donate directly through the NTAF Website, click here. The NTAF accepts checks, credit cards, and even stock contributions.

If you have any questions about donating, or if you’ve had a PayPal donation be ‘sent back’ to you, please email me (Jamie Starr) at rallyforriley@gmail.com (We had an issue with PayPal canceling some donations because they were left in the system for too long). In any case, all future donations should be made directly to Riley or through the NTAF.

We all loved watching the coverage of the X Games this year. Riley seeing his friends supporting him with those bright orange stickers meant so much to him, knowing that he was present with them in some regard. We have had a lot of interest in those stickers and Nike is in the process of printing more. The stickers will be distributed through Riley’s fundraising efforts in a number of ways, and available to you soon.

Thanks to Kevin Kruse, Bart Snyder, and the others who took the below photos.

On Friday night, Crested Butte’s men, women, and children showed up in force to celebrate for Riley. DJ TWO3 was on the one’s and twos all evening providing fuel for what was one great night. Energizing words were provided by Riley’s Dad Bob and Noah Wight (who has first hand experience with the challenges of living with a spinal cord injury).

Riley sends a huge thank you out to Cjay Clark and Trent Sweitzer who both dreamed up the event the week before. Riley’s good high school friends pulled out all the stops with a front-door raffle, $.25 wings, $2 beer, and one hell of a silent auction.

For those of you who weren’t able to make the event but who would still like to donate to the cause, all of the information is here. Riley’s heart goes out to the community of Crested Butte for their love and support.